Orchard-heater.



B. FALCONIERI. ORCHARD HEATER -APPLICATION FILED Junk 24. ma.

Patented. Apr. 29,1919.

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BIAGIO FALGONIERI, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 JOHNB. ARENA, 01E OAKLAN D, CALIFORNIA.

ORCHID-HEATER.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 29, 19199.

Application filed July 24, 1918. Serial No. 246,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BIAGIO FALCONIERI, a subject of the King of Italy,and a resident of Oakland, county of Alameda, and State of California,have invented a new and useful Orchard-Heater, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to devices for heating the air in orchards,fields, or gardens to raise the temperature in cold weather for theprotection of the trees or plants from frost.

An object of the invention is to provide an effective and inexpensivedevice for burning crude petroleum or' any of its low-grade distillates1n which complete combustion of the fuel is effected.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orchard heater whichwill operate t produce complete combustion of the fuel regardless of thelevel of the fuel in the fuel chamber.

A further object of the invention is to provide an orchard heater whichmay be filled with oil and left exposed in all kinds of weather withoutdanger of rain getting into the oil chamber and putting the device outof service.

The invention possesses other advantageous features some of which, withthe foregoing, will be set forth at length in the followin descriptionwhere I shall outline in full, t at form of the invention which I haveselected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming partof this specification. It is to be understood that I do not limit myselfto the showing made by the drawings and description since I may adoptmany variations of the preferred form within the scope of my inventionas set forth in the succeeding claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus of my invention, aportion thereof being broken away to reduce the size of the figure.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the lower portion'of a modified form ofheater of my invention.

The apparatus of my invention comprises a receptacle or pot 2 in whichthe liquid fuel is placed. The pot is covered with a conical hood 3 onwhich is mounted a flue or stack -l for producing the necessary draft toinduce a sufficient amount of air into the heater to complete cmnbustionof the fuel. Air for the initial combustion of the fuel is admitted intothe pot through apertures in the hood 3. These apertures are preferablysurrounded by funnels 5 either extending inwardly or outwardly from thehood and having their smaller diameter at the discharge end so that theair entering the pot is given a directional movement toward the bottomof the pot. By this means the incoming air or aportion of it strikes theupper surface of the fuel regardless of the amount of fuel in the potand causes a very satisfactory initial combustion of the fuel. The axesof the funnels 5 preferably intersect the bottom of the pot at itscenter so that the incoming air streams while directed toward the centerof the pot will not interfere with each other. Each funnel or port 5 isprovided on the outside with a gate 6 which is movable to con trol theamount of air which may pass through the funnel. When the fire is firststarted these gates are only partially open, but as the heater becomeswarm the gates are fully opened to permit the maximum amount of air toenter the pot.

The stack 4 is sufiiciently high to produce i-onsiderable draft throughthe hood, and the hood is rather shallow so that the flames, gases ofcombustion and incompletely burned mixture pass very rapidly into thestack. This produces a zone of maximum temperature at the base of thestack and l introduce auxiliary air into the stack at this point tocomplete the combustion of the incompletely burned mixture. Formed inthe base of the stack is a row of apertures 7 through which air entersthe stack at the zone of maximum temperature. Disposed within the stackin front of the apertures 7 and supported by the flange 8 is an annularbaffle wall 9 which causes the incoming air to be deflected upwardlyinto the stack. The area of the passage through the annular wall 9 isless than the cross-sectional area of the stack and consequently thespeed of the gases and incompletely burned mixture through the annularwall 9 is increased, thereby causing a large amount of air to be inducedinto the stack through the apertures 7. The air mixes with theincompletely burned mixture immediately above the baffle wall and causesthe complete combustion of the mixture. The wall also produces eddycurrents in the stack which produce a thorough mixture of the incomingair with the incompletely burned gases. The shoulder 8 and annular wall9 are preferably formed integral with the hood 3. A shield 12 arrangedabove the stack operates to deflect the heated products outwardly andprevents them from ascending into the atmosphere directly. I

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the stack is mounted on andseparated from the hood by an upwardly diverging perforated member 13through which air passes into the stack. The lower portion of the stackdepends below the upper edge of the member 13 and forms therewith apassage of gradually decreasing area upward. The zone of maximumtemperature occurs adjacent the lower row of apertures in the member 13and the greatest amount of air should be admitted into the zone. Byforming the air passage of gradually decreasing area upward, the amountof air entering the member through the succeeding rows of apertures isgradually lessened. The lower extension of the stack besides operatingto control the flow of air through the apertures also operates as ashield to prevent rain from entering the pot through these apertures.\Vhen it is desirable, a row of small apertures may be formed in themember 13 below the larger apertures so that a limited amount of air maybe introduced at those small apertures. By the construction shown inFig. 2, air in gradually lessening amount is introduced into theascending column of rsoaoae burning mixture so that complete. combustionof the fuel is assured.

I claim:

1. An orchard heater comprising a liquid fuel containing receptaclehaving a close fitting hood provided with a combustion stack, and animperforate conical funnel arranged on said hood and opening into thereceptacle above the level of the liquid fuel therein and disposed withits axis intersecting the bottom of the receptacle, the inner end of thefunnel being of less diameter than the stack whereby the draft up thestack produces a draft through the funnel and against the surface of thefuel. I

2. An orchard heater comprising a pot adapted to contain liquid fuel, aconical hood on said pot provided with air inlet apertures, a stackmounted on said hood provided adjacent its base with a plurality of airinlet apertures, and an imperforate annular battle wall within the stackand spaced therefrom opposite the apertures therein. and having itsupper edge terminating in a plane substantially coincident with the topof said apertures.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Oakland,California, this 29th day ofJune 1918.

niaeio FALCONIERI.

In presence of FLoY CRANE, J. B. GARDNER.

